Dozens of Worcester residents, including several politicians, gathered at City Hall this morning to kickoff a march by the ex-prisoners group EPOCA, who are walking to Boston in support of reform of Criminal Records (CORI) laws. They will arrive in Boston Thursday.
Political figures speaking at the kickoff included Worcester City Councilor Gary Rosen, State Rep. Jim O'Day, and former gubernatorial and City Council candidate Grace Ross.
According to a fact sheet from supporters, the CORI reform "Public Safety Act" has three main elements:
- CORI records of felony convictions would be sealed after 7 years, rather than the current 15 years. (Supporters argue that evidence shows that felons who do not re-offend 7 years after release are no more likely to commit new offenses than non-felons.) CORI records of misdemeanor convictions would be sealed after 3 years, rather than the current 10 years.
- Non-conviction CORI records would be semi-automatically sealed, and persons opposed to the sealing would be heard by a judge.
- Anti-descrimination laws would include CORI reports. According to the flier, this would "Update the Anti-Discrimination laws administered by the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination so that criminal record requests must go to the Criminal History Systems Board; Defining the refusal of a job, license, training slot or other action against a person based SOLELY on the presence of a CORI as an Act of Discrimination; Removing the definition of discrimination if the applicant’s CORI lists one or more recent convictions that are substantially related to the position being applied for.
Article about the march in
Article about the march in Metro: A long road ahead for CORI reformers
March wrap-up at Blue Mass
March wrap-up at Blue Mass Group